Foxcroft indoor track team set to open season at UMO on Saturday

Track and Field is competition in its purest form. It is just you versus the others. There is no home field advantage. There are no time outs. You can’t hide behind the abilities of your teammates. It is just you versus the competition, and the effort you put into practice directly manifests itself in the performance you put on the track. I can say from experience that that feeling of fulfillment that comes from seeing your hard work outperform your competition is unparalleled. Last year we had to wait agonizingly long for any chance for that taste of fulfillment that can only come from competition. Renovations on the UMO field house forced us to wait until late January to compete, only for a snowstorm to postpone it further. It was not until January 20th that we competed for the first time. New policies further limited our practices in the field house, and we only got to practice once on an indoor track the entire season. The rest of the season we trained outside in the elements or on the third floor of the school. In a lot of ways the 2013-14 indoor season was a lost season.

The 2014-15 season has begun with a lot more positive energy. Competition starts this Saturday, and the team could not be more excited. It’s December, and we’ve already put a workout in on UMO’s indoor track, and we are geared up to compete this weekend.

Competition is stiff in the EMITL conference as there are no classes, and we compete against the likes of Bangor, Brewer, and Hampden every week. Nevertheless if we progress the way we are trending, I expect us to be very competitive come championship season.

A lot of credit is due to Coach Rob Weber, who returns after baby duty took him away from indoor track last year, for the well-roundedness of the team. His expertise in the sprints is undeniable, and he is a huge asset to the sprints and jumps program.

We have a lot of momentum heading into the season as many returners had huge improvements on last outdoor’s PVC runner-up team, and most recently our distance crew is coming off of the most successful cross country season in recent years. Our boy’s team is well rounded with strong contributors in every discipline, which makes for a team that has the potential to score well in championship meets. We are led by seniors Peter Boyer in the shot put and sprints, Sebastian Zepeda and Dylan Richards in the sprints, and Edison Chen in the hurdles and horizontal jumps while Noah Simpson and Julian Zepeda lead the distance crew that is bolstered by juniors Gabe Piquette and Cooper Nelson.

Energy is high throughout the team, and I am especially impressed with Sebastian and Dylan, who have really upped their commitment to the sprints this year, pushing each other during workouts and lifting after practice. Both are coming off of breakout outdoor seasons, and I would not be surprised to see them at the tops of the sprinter fields at the end of the season, even against stiff competition like Bangor and Brewer. Cooper Nelson is also a great addition to the team, forgoing basketball for the first time to strengthen the distance crew. Cooper is ready to take his abilities to the next level, and he is always pushing himself to reach his goals, asking what extra he can do.

Having Desirae Brawn as a full participant for the first time will bolster the throwing squad on a small girl’s team that should be strong through the middle distances with the return of Fern Morrison (pictured above) and Erika Chadbourne. Erika had an awesome rookie season last year, and I am excited to see what she can do with a season of experience under her belt. Fern has always been very strong, but I am impressed with her added dedication thus far this year, and if it continues I expect her to make a jump to the next level. Her competition better watch out.

We realize that we are not yet where we want to be by the end of the season. It is a work in progress, but it will feel good to compete this weekend and see our hard work stack up against the competition (and well before January 20th that is!).